The Changing UAWIn innovative and very pragmatic new contracts with Ford, Chrysler and leading suppliers Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp., the UAW finally consented to different levels of compensation for members who previously were entitled to the same, famously rich packages.

New Year’s Resolution: A Taxpayer Bill of RightsAt the end of fiscal 2000, Michigan budget officials informed
lawmakers that the treasury had received $600 million more than had been budgeted. Rather than return it to taxpayers, state
legislators went on a spending spree that included a new polar bear exhibit for the Detroit Zoo.

Profit Has a Role in Public SchoolsMaybe what’s needed in the public schools is more profit, not less. Think about it: Where is the crisis in public education these days? Is it in the availability of desks, food or computers, or in other areas provided by the for-profit private sector? The crisis concerns the classroom — the part delivered by government, regulated by legislatures and supervised by district bureaucracies.

For the past 87 years, the Netherlands has enjoyed a universal, nationwide school-voucher program. Dutch high school seniors and recent graduates score first in the world in mathematics, second in science and fourth in literacy.

Mental Health Care Reform Should Put Patients FirstState compliance requirements divert enormous resources toward monitoring the process followed by local mental health authorities, while doing little to measure whether patients in the system actually get better.

The Golden Calf of DemocracyIn spite of this year’s candidates singing interminable paeans to “our democracy,” America is thankfully not one and never has been. Our founders established a republic, modifying democracy
considerably.

Why Socialized Health Care in Canada Is Not the Model to Follow“[Canadian health care] produces inferior age-adjusted access to physicians and technology, produces longer waiting times, is less successful in preventing deaths from preventable causes and costs more than any of the other [health care] systems that have comparable objectives.”
— The Fraser Institute
of Vancouver,
British Columbia

Did Anybody Really Know What Time It Was?“In every city and town,” historian Stewart Holbrook wrote in 1947, “the multiplicity of time standards confused and ewildered passengers, shippers and railway employees. Too often, errors and mistakes turned out disastrously. …”

Outsourcing Benefits
Michigan Economy and TaxpayersLawmakers in Congress and in more than 30 state legislatures have targeted foreign outsourcing as a threat to U.S. employment and prosperity. Along with certain critics in the news media, such as CNN’s Lou Dobbs, they charge that U.S. companies are firing American workers in significant numbers and replacing them with foreign service workers in low-wage countries such as India. Legislative proposals in Michigan and elsewhere have focused on barring federal or state contracts with companies that would “offshore” the work to call centers or information technology providers abroad.

Going Broke by DegreeI have looked carefully at the relationship between economic growth and state spending on universities. I found a strong negative relationship — higher state spending equals lower rates of economic growth.

Union Members' Attitudes Toward Their Unions' PerformanceZogby International and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy undertook a nationwide survey of union members to determine their views of their unions’ performance. We asked union members about union effectiveness, union responsibilities, union political spending, ways for workers to create a union and how unions should treat workers.

Assessing Electric Choice in Michigan Ending the regional monopoly structure in the generation of electricity was intended to provide customers with lower rates and improved service quality, while also increasing generating capacity for electricity in the state. But attempts are underway to reverse the course of this restructuring.

Governor’s Water Scheme Is All WetThe governor can’t credibly call for improving the business climate and making Michigan more competitive with other states, while at the same time pushing for overregulation.

Cut Train Subsidies to Re-connect Rural Michigan Michigan taxpayers are shelling out almost $40 per rider on two Amtrak lines, on top of paid fares. No one has explained why it’s worth that much tax money to put a rider on a train instead of a bus or car.

What Is Real Compassion?When we expect the government to substitute for what we ourselves ought to do, we expect the impossible and end up with the intolerable.

Wetlands Case Proves Need to Curtail AbuseThe Army Corps of Engineers came up with the “migratory
molecule” rule, which says that even isolated wetlands fall under federal jurisdiction because there is a theoretical chance that a water molecule from any location may reach a navigable waterway.

Sinful Sin Taxes“Because the profits are so fantastic, we’re now seeing drug traffickers, other criminal organizations, and even terrorists involved in tobacco smuggling.”

Remembering a Classic, and the Man Who Wrote ItTo Smiles, the road to riches was not paved with over-reaching
ambition, disregard for others, or cutting corners when it came to matters of truth. It didn’t mean securing favors from government at the expense of the competition.

Time to Take Another Look at Teacher Certification“I was told that I could not be hired because my degree is from outside of the state, because I have no union affiliation, or because it would be ‘too difficult to confirm my credentials.’ These were different ‘reasons’ on different occasions,” related Robinson.

Why Are Mighigan's School Districts Borrowing More?School districts tempted to dodge the demographic bullet with deluxe buildings and beggar-thy-neighbor policies should think twice. Instead, they should work on what really matters: making their education programs better.

"Proposal A," 10 Years LaterIf the 1994 amendment needs amending at all, it needs it in the form of changes that would increase options for parents and produce greater accountability in the ways that education dollars are spent.

Why School Districts Can’t Save on Health CareThe MEA and MESSA have set up an obstacle course that prevents public schools from introducing competition for teachers’ health care coverage or putting reasonable limits on the extent of care.

Let Cintas Workers Make Up Their Own MindsThere is no need to pressure Cintas into a neutrality or card-check agreement. When a majority of Cintas workers are convinced they want a union, they will vote to have one.